In the past 3 years, there have been over 120,000 Hongkongers who have moved to the UK. For the past month, to celebrate and promote their culture in the UK, a month-long, UK wide festival, "Hong Kong March", was held across 16 cities covering the history, music, films and culinary heritage of Hong Kong.
The event which would give readers an overall insight of the festival has to be the cultural market held in St John’s Waterloo. There was plenty of quality Hong Kong style street food, including beef tendon, curry fishball, and milk tea, inspiring nostalgia in those who grew up in Hong Kong, and appreciation in those who didn’t.
For those not interested in food, there was also handmade jewellery and artwork for sale. A highlight from the market was the Hong Kong Movie Scene Miniature Sets Exhibition from Duo Miniature (more about them can be found from their Instagram account: @duoscene_miniature). Miniatures of scenes from iconic movies, including the widely acclaimed “Happy Together” directed by Wong Kar Wai, and the award-winning “Rogue” starring Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui, were on display for visitors to admire. Any fan of the movies can see and appreciate the time and effort the artist must have put into the work from the degree of accuracy and detail shown in the miniature. The artist himself who was present at the exhibition said that he had watched the movie “Rogue” over 50 times to get it right.
This was an event to promote Hong Kong culture, but also an event for people who came from the culture to come together, to feel a sense of belonging which is not easy to find in a foreign country. The UK is a multicultural society, it is an aspect which enriches the society with a variety of food, art, and most importantly, people. It is important for us to accept, and embrace everything which comes with, as it is only then will we truly grow and have the opportunity to flourish.
